I have been reading a number of the threads here and it seems that folks are having all kinds of problems with the swapping of books.  Did I make a mistake in joining up?  I'm really kind of nervous now. 

I wouldn't worry too much.  Sure there will be problems now and then, but for the most part things are pretty smooth.  I'm still fairly new myself (I've only been here for about 6 months), and while I haven't had any problems, I'm sure other people could say differently.  But, there are also several people who have done several hundred swaps with no problems.  I'm sure it's probably how many things are in life - people are often quick to complain about a problem but not to praise good work and that's why it seems like we see so many people on here complaining about problem swaps!  I say don't worry about it too much and enjoy PBS!  Welcome!  =)

No, my average is not even 1% problem books. It's just the 99+% good trades don't give us all that much to talk about!

Ray, rest assured that most of the PBS transactions go smoothly.  With over 2000 members and new ones joining every day, it's to be expected that a glitch will occur at times.  I've been a PBS member for two years now, and I'll bet I've had 2-3 difficulties with transactions, and none of them really difficult to deal with.  To coin a phrase, "members are people, too" and everyone makes a mistake at times. 

Welcome to PBS!!

Those are just the "currently online" members. There are almost 50,000 members with public profiles! (and some other number of members who have not made a public profile)

Hi Ray,

I'm fairly new (few months), and I've met (in a manner of speaking) some awesome people. The members have been so very helpful, and so darn nice. I had one bad trade (I received the wrong book), but it was taken care of by the sender, so no complaints from me. I'm really enjoying my time here, and I'm so glad I joined.  I think I'm addicted to this site. I hope you stay, and enjoy being a part of this community.

I think out of 220+ books received and over 300 sent I've had maybe 6 problem transactions.  2 wrong books sent to me, 2 I had to mark RWP, 1 go lost and one damaged by the PO.  That's pretty good for basically 500+ transactions.  Plus that number doesn't include free books I got as part of deals, BOB transactions or games. 

It seems like there's a lot of problems because people don't come on and post about all the good transactions they have. They come on and post about the bad ones either for advice on how to handle it or to just vent. 

With the exception of one book that smelled like used toilet paper, I haven't had any problems with PBS. The books are always in great shape or readable (which is fine)

This is a great alternative to buying books off E-Bay or Half.com. Those sellers are constantly misdescribing the condition of their books, and charging out the a** for them too. And most of them will ignore refund requests.

Stay here. You'll save a ton of money on books that are in better condition

Don't be discouraged if some are not like new. Some books have been passed on to hundreds of households. As long as it follows the postable guidelines, you'll be able to reswap it

Don't let the threads on these boards scare you!  Only a small fraction of the overall PBS membership even visits the discussion boards, much less posts to them.  The boards are for asking questions about problems so you're going to see a lot of problems posted about.  The vast majority of PBS transactions go smoothly.

I've only had a handful of problem transactions in the year and a half I've been here.  2 books lost in the mail, 2 books I requested my credit back because they were damaged before they were sent.

Welcome! No, you didn't make a mistake!

I haven't had alot of problems.  (Knock on wood)!!

I've been here a little over a year and sent out nearly 200 books (between here and 2 other sites) and received about as many and haven't had any problems thus far.

You will hear more negative than positive here because most people are asking what to do about problems!

Mistake!? No way! As with anything else, it's the people who do have problems who complain--you don't hear about the thousands of trades that conclude well....because they're just so boring that they don't warrant mentioning. :)

I've been a member 3 years now, sent 1100+ books and received just as many and the problem transactions are very few and far between. I mean VERY few, single digits even! Welcome to PBS, Ray--you will soon be as addicted as the rest of us. LOL

Cheryl

Since I have joined, out of 74 books I have received, I have had problems with about 8 of them. Maybe that is high for here? I really don't know. But I love this site and will take the good with the bad and just hope the bad get weeded out.

Been here a little less than two years.   Am still waiting for one of these problems to creep up.   Of course, I don't consider RC of any kinds a problem.   I just read em and then decide if my book meets them or not.          I did get 4 books in one package that were sopping wet.  Wasn't the senders fault - looked as if the mailman had dropped them in a pubble and then ran over them!  lol          Look at the number of swaps I've had.           No problems!

Wow, Colleen! That does seem like a lot of problematic books--I have not even had 8 RWP total over 3 years and 1,152 (I just had to go look and see exactly how many it was now. LOL) books received! I hope your luck starts turning around!

Cheryl

I've sent over 1,000 books and received at least 700.  I've had 10ish problem transactions.  By problem transactions, I mean lost books, weird requester conditions and snarky PMs.  Oh, and books that took forever in the system, like this one book that I'm trying to order and I'm on my 3rd member and see no end in sight.  There are only 6 books in the system, so it will end eventually.

I will never regret joining PBS.  DH's only regret is that now I always have a book to read, so I'm always reading.  Before PBS, I had to pace myself more.

Kerry

I've been here over a year and have received over 100 books, and I've mailed out over 150.  No problems here.  I've had nothing but good experiences.

There are several things that I would like to point out (based on my experience).  This is a used book site.  It is not Amazon.  You are not going to get brand new books.   The very first book I received through this site, was a much-read paperback that was kind of old and had spine creases, etc.  It was not in any way upostable by PBS standards, but it was a bit of a shock to me (as a new user).  I would like to point out, however, that I read it, enjoyed it, re-posted it, and got over it.   I really don't know what my expectations were, but I got over them quickly. 

On the flip side of that coin, I cannot even begin to count the number of books I've received that were practically brand new.  And I've read them, enjoyed them, and re-posted them (except for the ones I've loaned out to friends or kept because I couldn't part with them).  

The thing that has been great about this site, for me, is that I have read so many books that I would never have considered before.  I've found many authors and genres that I had overlooked, thanks to recommendations and reading the forums.  It has been a constant adventure for me!   And the most important thing is that it is a very cheap way to feed my reading habit! 

I've been here 2+ years, and have sent and received over 1100 books (and that doesn't include the BOBs or ones from the games!).  The percentage of bad books is very small - maybe less than 1%.  Seriously, I would say that well over 90% of the books I've received have been in very good condition.

Count me in as another fan of the site.  I've received over 200 books and sent as many, and have had NO real problems.  A couple of cancels and a few books that went lost and then became found...  All the books I've received, I've been happy with their condition.

Don't have worries, the forums are for discussions, and people will naturally vent their problems when gathered together so it "seems" like there are nothing but problems here, but the reality of the site is far different than a glimpse at the forum discussions would give.  (The venting and questions about problems are an indispensible part of the site for me, I learn about so many situations that I've NEVER come across myself in my own site transactions...)

I am grateful to be a PBS member, mainly because of all the great people I've met! 

Welcome to PBS! I have been here for a few months and I have yet to have a problem. Most of the books that I have gotten have been in new or nearly new condition. But, you know, book swapping is only part of what I have gotten here. I have made some great friends, and have found that PBS is a family that is always there for each other. We have some of the greatest members. I am certain you won't be sorry you joined.

I'm fast approaching my 3rd PBSaversary and nearly 1600 books received (that includes my box trades, but not deals, so it's most likely well over 1600 then) and I'm sure I've not had 5 bad books all total. So, even if you hit a streak of bad books, don't worry, you'll make up for it later with lots more good ones :)

Welcome to PBS, and do plan on becoming addicted, it's SO much fun!

Usually I have no problems(but I think we all have a tendency to complain more than post all the positive experiences).  You'll love it here 99.9% of the time, probably:)